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Throughout much of this budget season, the young people of Black Swan Academy visited D.C. council members’ offices and testified before the Committee of the Whole in demand of priorities outlined in their 2023 Black Youth Agenda, including timely school repairs, violence interruption expansion, youths’ access to public benefits, and expansion of affordable housing.
These items, and more, came to the forefront once again on Monday evening during a rally that the Black Swan Academy youth hosted in Freedom Plaza — right across the street from the John A. Wilson Building where council members are currently deciding how to allocate $21 billion in local funds for Fiscal Year 2025.
Desiray Knight, Black Swan Academy’s middle school coordinator, watched closely as some of the young people she’s been mentoring since February took to the podium, recited poetry and advocated for social services they deemed essential in improving their quality of life.
“They’re starting to learn that they’re in control and they have power. It’s not always in adults’ hands,” said Knight, 22. “They’re learning about the council members and their jobs. It’s about knowing who to go to for certain things. Talking about it gives young people closure without getting in trouble.”
The presentations, Knight told The Informer, followed months of discussions and planning around what would eventually become the 2023 Black Youth Agenda. As she reflected on her experiences as a former Black Swan Academy youth, Knight identified mental health as one of the more pressing issues of the day for young people.
“We’re fighting [to get] them in schools with people who are trained to deal with mental health,” Knight said. “Young people are overlooked when it comes to certain things. Black Swan Academy gives them the comfort zone to speak about how they feel and what they want to change. They’re going to be our leaders [so] their voices are very important.”
The Youth Promote Their Agenda Before the Council
Since 2013, Black Swan Academy has worked to acclimate Black youth in the District to civic engagement. The nonprofit’s 2023 Black Youth Agenda has four parts — Hear Us, Heal Us; Where Dreams Come Home; Keep It Clean, No More Truancy; and Safe Passage 4 Youth Passage.
In addition to youth opportunities, these sections work to address: the expansion of childcare options for District residents, access to utility assistance, timely and quality public housing repairs, financial education courses in the K-12 curriculum, emergency funds for student toiletries, food and clothes, personal hygiene machines, rehabilitation programs, and increase of support for out-of-school time programming.
On May 3, 16 Black Swan Academy members were scheduled to testify before the D.C. Council Committee of the Whole during its marathon budget hearing. Each young person who engaged D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson provided testimony that merged their lived experiences with research that contextualized the issues they faced.
Marcus Williams, a junior at Anacostia High School in Southeast, urged the Committee of the Whole to fund upgrades to apartments like where he and his family lives.
“It makes me upset to live in the place I live now because everything is falling apart and everything around Ward 8, including the buildings are old,” said Marcus, 16. “It’s sad that me and the people in my community have to go through this detriment with [there being] enough money for housing… Not adjusting this issue can affect more people. Not just me and my family.”
While speaking before Mendelson, K’layah McCoy, a Black Swan Academy youth who attends the Social Justice School in Northeast, stood in solidarity with peers who don’t have adequate housing.
“Seeing homeless people on the street, especially children, makes me sad,” K’layah said. “I got everything I could ask for and I feel like homeless youth should be treated the same as me… They deserve housing, hygiene products and fresh clothes. I would also ask that you expand homeless shelters for youth [and] expand affordable housing access.”
Meanwhile, Star Short, a Black Swan Academy youth organizer who attends Dunbar High School in Northwest, demanded resources that would make her school a clean and welcoming environment for her and her peers.
“I envision a school where period products, spare clothes, and hygiene products like deodorant and toothpaste are available for all students,” Starr said. “ And the bathrooms are always stocked with soap and toilet paper. I want…conversation about personal hygiene [to be] a regular part of our interaction with our teachers and friends. I want there to be clean, cold refreshing water available to students [through] working water fountains and working water bottle filling stations.”
The Council Considers Some of the Youths’ Demands
By the time youth from Black Swan Academy converged on Freedom Plaza on Monday, each council committee had already submitted budget recommendations addressing some of their demands. The D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole partially restored funding for the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund while fully restoring the Community Schools program that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser cut out of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s budget.
The council’s Committee on Housing added $6.9 to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, while putting in place stipulations intended to improve programmatic transparency. An additional $1.2 million investment expands permanent supportive housing to 43 more residents, while a $1.8 million enhancement expands homeless prevention services. For public housing residents, the D.C. Council’s Committee on Housing also funds building rehabilitation and maintenance.
In the realm of behavioral health, the D.C. Council’s Committee on Health recommended the expansion of the School-Based Behavioral Health School Peer Educator Pilot for a second year with $325,000 from the Opioid Abatement Fund. The committee allocated an additional $300,000 for a new grant that provides childcare for pregnant parents and legal guardians in need of urgent medical treatment at a D.C.-based birthing hospital or facility.
More than $1.4 million has also been allocated for the enhancement of the School Health Services Program, which enhances training for school nurses, health technicians, and staff while increasing access to telehealth services in school health suites.
D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson told The Informer that the allocation culminated a process that involved District residents, specifically those who lobbied council members for these investments.
“The committee was pleased to hear at the budget oversight hearing that, after the program experienced high vacancies during the fall semester, 95% of school health suites are now staffed by trained health professionals at 40 hours per week,” Henderson said. “This is remarkable given that one year ago, only about half of schools had full-time staffing.”